Container filling mechanism



Sept. l2, 1944. G,| ,-C|0ss ETAL 2,358,001'

' CONTAINER FILLING MECHANISM Filed Jalh 29, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 JOJSept. 12', 1944. G.' l.. cRoss Erm.

CONTAINER FILLING IVIIECIAIIISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 29, 1942Patented sept. i2, 1944 CONTAINER FILLING MECHANISM George L. nCross andWilliam F. Miller, Albany, N. Y., assgnors, by mesne assignments, toTobin Packing Co., Inc., Fort Dodge, Iowa, a corporation oi.' DelawareApplication January 29, 1942, Serial No. 428,762

6 Claims.

" Tins invention relates to container mung 'meenanisms, and moreparticularly to an apparatus for compressing articles or materials such,for' example, as boned hams, and forcing them into cans tobeprocessed.

Heretofore it has been the common practice -Qin the canning of bonedhams to first partly compressl the ham, place it in a mold, andpartially cook the ham while in the mold. 'I'he ham is then removed fromthe mold and'placed in a can :for further processing. Such operationsnot only require substantial time and labor, but also result in adefinite loss of flavor from the ham due to the partial cooking beforethe ham is canned, much of the natur'aljuices of the ham I.

being lost.

An important object ofthe present apparatus is to provide a simple andnovel apparatus which is both time and labor saving in that it permits aham or other article to be quickly deformed to a cross-sectional shapecorresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the can, and then to begnuickly forcedinto the can to be processed there.-

A further object is to provide lsuch an apparatus wherein the naturaljuices normally lost from food products are s aved by the procedurereferred to, the apparatus serving to quickly and easily deform theuncooked ham into the proper ,cross-sectionalshape for insertion endwiseinto a.

can of uniform cross-sectional shape and area to be wholly cooked withinthe can. v

A :further object is to provide an apparatus having an article formingmechanism of a novel construction which permits such an article as aboned ham to be wholly received therein and to be quickly deformedthereby into a. cross-sectional shape corresponding to that of a'can andto provide means in conjunction with such mechanism .for immediatelyforcing the ham into the can while it is held in the cross-sectionalshape of the can., l

A further object is to vprovide novel means cooperating with the hamdeforming mechanism for supporting beneath such mechanism cans ofuniform cross-sectional shape of different length to( adapt them toreceive hams *of different sizes,

whereby the upper end of a can of any length may besuprorted in aposition to directly receive a hamA from vthe defforming mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the following description.

In the drawings we have -shown Yone embodiment of the invention. In thisshowing- Figure l is a side elevation ofthe apparatus, Figure 2 is afront elevation thereof,

Figure 3` is an enlarged fragmentary central vertical sectional viewthrough a portion of the apparatus, parts being shown in elevation,

Figure 4 is a horizontalfsectional view on line I-I of Figure 3, and,

Figure 5 is a similar view on line 5--5 of Figure'v 3, parts being shownin elevation. l0

`Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the numeral I0 designates a relativelyheavy base which may be secured to any suitable horizontal support andis provided with a heavy vertical standard II secured thereto. Thestandard II carries a hopper indicated by the numeral I2 in which hamsorv other articles of food are to 'be deformed in the manner to hedescribed. Referring to Figure 5 it will be noted that th hoppercomprises side walls I3 and a rear wall I4, integral with each other andpreferably integral with supporting collars I5 surrounding the standardII and iixed thereto in any suitable manner as, for example, by setscrews I5.. The hopper wall I4 is secured to the two collars I5 throughintegral connections I'I and reinforcing webs I8 may be formed'integralwith the wall I3, collars I5 and connecting members I'I. As will becomeapparent, the

hopper I2 remains xed against vertical move-- ment in the operation ofthe apparatus.

The hopper I2 further comprises a front wall I9 having a boss 2|!through which a shaft 2l -ex- I' tends, to pivotally connect the wall I9adjacent its lower end to the side walls I3. Mechanism is provided forswinging the wall I9 inwardly to a vertical position parallel to therear wall Il. The

.wall I9 is provided with a pair `of ears 22 between which is arrangedone end of a lever 23, and a bolt or shaft 24 extends through the ear 22and the end of the lever 23 referred to. The other end of the lever 23is pivotally connected as at 25 to one end of a crank 26 and this crankis fixed to a shaft 21 journaled in the side walls I3 as at 28.

Outwardly of the hopper, the shaft 21 carries a crank 29 having its freeend pivotally connected as at 3D to one end of a link 3|. Thislinkhasits other end pivotally connected as at 32 to a hand lever 33 the lowerendof which is pivotally connected as at 34'to a boss 35' formedintegral with the body portion of the hopper l2. It will be obvious thatif the lever 33 is swung'in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 1,the link 3I will turn the crank 29 in a counterclockwise direction toimpart similar movement to the crank 26 to cause the latter to operatethrough the link wall I9 occupies its normal position shown in ,Figures1 and 3, the shape and capacity of the hopper I2 is such as to adaptitto receive various sizes of boned hams. The operation of the lever 33 inthe manner stated deforms the ham, causing it to partake of a uniformcross-sectional shape to be forced downwardly inw the can to bedescribed. 'I'he wall I3 adjacent the lever 33 is provided with a lug 33to serve as a stop for limiting movement of the lever 33.

A vertical guide 34 (Figures 3 and 4) having guide grooves 25, isarranged adjacent and parallel to the standard II. The guide 34 may beformed integral with collars 36 slidably surrounding the standard andnormally fixed against movement with respect thereto by set screws 31. Acan holder indicated as a whole by the numeral 38 is supported by butnormally does not slide with respect to the guide 34. The can holdercomprises a rear wall 39 having integral connection as at 4l with aplate 4I. the edges of which are arranged in the guide grooves 35. A pin42, extending through the guide 34 (Figure 3) supports the plate 4I inits normal position.

Two door elements respectively indicated as al whole by the numerals 43and cooperate with the wall 3l to encircle a can in the holder 3l. Eachdoor element comprises a side wall 4I and a front wall section 4t, thefront wall section cooperating to close the front of the can holder whenbrought together to the position shown in Figure 2. Each door element isprovided with upper and lower ears 41 pivoted as at 4I to ears 49 formedintegral with the integral connections 4l. Each of the ears 41 of thedoor elements is formed integral with and 4as an extension of integralreinforcing iianges il formed on the door hopper and in order to sealthe gap between elements, as will be apparent.

` One front wall section 44 is provided with an integral lug II engagedby a manually operable latch element 52 carried by a link 53 pivotallyconnected tothe other front wall section 4 8. The unlocked position ofthe latch element B2 isshowninligurei and itwillbeobvious that when thedoors are swung to closed position the latch element 52 swings with thelink 53, andthen swings lindependently of these links to a lockedposition in engagement with the lug 5|. This type of latch mechanismobviously is conventional, and it will be apparent that any lockr I ingmeans for the door elements may be em- AplayedV Means is preferablyprovided for effecting simultaneous movement of the door elements 43 and44. A connecting link 54 is pivotally conf nected at oneend as at 5S toan'ear 54 carried by the reinforcing flange. Il of one door element,

while 'the other end of the link B4 is pivotallyV connected as-at 51 Vtothe flange Il of the other door element, thearrangement of the pivotpoints li and l1 with respect to the respective pivots 48 being such asto provide reverse swinging rotation of each door element with respectto the other. movement ot-one door element toward open pomtion thereforeresults in movement of the otherrdoor element in the opposite directiontoward its'open position. j

vWhenthe door elements are inthe closedpositionshowninrigurelandshownindottedlinesinngure4,theydeiineaverticalspaceof .general rectangularform'corresponding to the the apparatus. It will be obvious, of course,that the invention is not limited to use with cans of any particularcross-sectional shape. The inner face of thewall 39 is provided with aseries of spaced grooves 58,7while thevinner surfaces of the side walls45 and end wall sections 4I are similarly provided with spacedsets ofgrooves 5l, each'groove i8 being arranged in the plane of one groove 59of each door element. These grooves are provided for the purpose ofreceiving beads at the lower ends of the cans to be filled, and aplurality of spaced grooves is provided to accommodate cans of differentheights.

A crosshead 80 is mounted for vertical sliding movement in the 'guide24. This crosshead is provided with an integral arm 6I terminating in abearing 62 in which is slidably arranged a screw shaft 63 having avertical groove 64 for splined connection with the bearing i2. 'I'heupper end of the screw 63 carries a head l5 forming the lower end ofthecan holder and constituting a pressure element for a purpose to bedescribed.

'I'he head 65 is vertically adjustable in accordance with the heights ofdifferent cans. ForV this purpose a bevel gear 88 is supported by thebearing 62 and is threaded on the shaft 63. The

article in the hopper I2 the can holder and associated elements aremovable upwardly to close the gap between the upper end of the canholder and the lower end of the hopper I2. The can holder is normallyslightly spaced beneath the these two elements whenthe can holder ismoved upwardly, the side and rear walls of the hopper are provided witha thin depending flange 1I integral therewith and adapted to projectdownwardly into the upper end of the can holder.

The crosshead 8l is provided with adepending projection 13 engaging acam element 14 and this means supports the crosshead 'I4 in the de-.sited position and is operative, under conditions.

to be described, for moving. the crosshead and its associated elementsand the can holder upwardly when the can is to be lled. Thecam 14 iscarried by a shaft 1l journaled in an ear 16 carried by the guide 34.- Acrank 11 is carried by the shaft 1l and is pivotally connected as at 18with the lower end of a link 1l. The upper'end of this link is pivotallyconnected as at QI with one end of a lever II and this lever is pivotedas at l2 to. an enlargement carried by he lower of the two collars Il.The other end I3 of the lever is reduced in sine and bears upon a cam I4welded or otherwise secured to the lever I3. It will become apparentthat operation of the lever Il to swing-thewall Il (Figure 3) of thehopper I2 likewise operates the leverli,link1l,crank11andcam14toelevatethe A guide groovell (Figure 3) isformed in a supprtltsecured as at I1 to the standard II andpreferablysecuredatlts lowermdinanysuitable manner (not shown) tothewall I4. A verticalIrackbarllisslidableinthegroov'ellandcarcro-sectionalahapeofthentvbeillledwithrlesatltslowerendaheadn auf 3. The teeth su of 'the rack bar ss meshwith a pinion 9I -carried by a shaft 92 rotatably supported in bearings93 formed integral with the support 86. A hand wheel 94 Aon the shaft 92permits an operator to actuate the head 89.

In forcing a hamor other food article downwardly into a can in theholder 38 it is highly desirable to permit the free escape of air fromI' the bottom of the can so that the can may be properly evacuatedpriorto the processing operation. Referring to Figure 5, the numeral 98designates a vertical. rib welded to or formed integral with one cornerportion of the hopper I2 and having its projecting portion of taperedvshape as shown. This rib 95 extends substantially throughout the heightof the hopper I2, as

- shown in Figure 3. Avsheet metal vent element 96 is bent transverselyso that its interior corresponds in cross-sectional shape and size tothe tapered portionv of the rib 95. The vent element' is slightly longerthan the total vertical' length of the hopper I2 and the longest can tobe lled with the apparatus. The vent element v96 normally has its lowerend terminating at or slightly above the bottom of the hopper I2 so thatits upper end projects a substantial distance above the hopper, asshown-in Figure 1.

end ofthe vent element 96 is provided with a` The upper iinger piece 91to facilitate the operation of this element.

The operation of the apparatus isas follows: The door elements 43 and 44of the can hold-` can toa point adjacent-the bottom' thereof. The bonedham is then dropped into the top of the hopper I2 with the partsarranged in the posi- I tion shown in solid lines in Figure 3. It willbe apparent that with the forwardwall I9 of the hopper in its-outerinclined position, the capacity of the hopper is such as to easily'receive a ham of the largest size ordinarily employed in canning. Suchham will be in a loose open vposition due to the removal of the bonetherefrom and the ham is dropped endwise'intothe hopper.

The operator will then grasp the handle at the upper end of the lever 33-and move it forwardly, that is, to the right as viewed in Figures 1 and3. This action swings the crank 29 (Figures 1 and 3) in acounter-clockwise direction to impart'similar movement to the crank 26.The free end of the crank 26 will force the 'link 23 inwardly, thusswinging the wall I9 toward vertical position. The operator, because ofthe leverage provided can readily swing the lever 33 until the wall I9assumes a vertical position: When this position is` reached, the lever33A ,willv engage the lug 33' to limit further movement of the lever,and the crank 26 and link 23 will assume positions in alignment witheach other so that the pressure therefore that no force is required onthe part oi' the operator to hold the wall I9 in position. y

ing mechanism are opened to the position shown f in Figure 4, whereuponthe operator selects a can of the proper height in accordance with the fvolume of the ham or other article to be canned.

The operator will place the can in the can holder against therear wall39 thereof with the head at the lower end of ther'can in the propergroove 58 in accordance with the height of the can, the top of the4 canbeing arranged approximately at the upper end ofthe can holder. The canwill be held in position while the hand wheel 10 (Figures 1 and 2) isrotated in the proper direction to elevate the head 65 (Figure 3).` Ihescrew 6 3 is slidable in the bearing 42 but is fixed against rotationwith respect thereto and accordingly rotation of the wheel 10 in thevproper direction causes thebevel gear B9 (Figure 2) to rotate the bevelgear '86 and thus feed the screw 83 upwardly o until the head 65contacts with the bottom ofv thev can to support it. The operator willthen move one' of the ldoor elements 4 3 or 44 manuallyto closedposition andthe link 54 (Figure 4) will swing theother door element tothe same position, whereupon the operator can engage the latch- 53behind thelug 5| .to llock the 'door elements i3 and 44 .in the closedposition shown'in Figures vary and require the use of `cans of dierentheights. ,It is for this reason that the means described above isprovided, cans of different heights being employed in accordance withthe volume of the ham.. The proper vcan having been selected, and placedin position, the operator will then press downwardly on the nger piece91 (Figure l) to move the vent element 96 downwardly to project thelower -end of such element intoethe Y Referring to Figures v1 and 3, itwill be noted that when the lever 33 is swung to the right to deform theham within the hopper I2, the cam 34 will be moved -to the right andobviously swings 'about'the axis of the pivot 34. The cam 84 swingsupwardly and to the right and engages 40 the reduced end 83 of thelever' 8-I to move it upwardly. This operation effects downward movementof the link 1.9 and downward swinging movement of the crank 11, andsince the cam 14 is operable bythe crank 11, the cam 14 will swinglupwardly.v The depending projection 13 engages the cam -14 and upwardmovement of the latter accordingly moves the-'projection 13 andconsequently the crosshead upwardly. This operation elevatesjall of theelements carried by the crosshead 80 and since the head 65 (Figure 3) isin firm engagement with the bottom ofthecan in theholder 38, and sincethe can is fixed .against relative vertical movement with respect` tothe can holder byrengagement of the lower bead'thereof in the grooves 58and 59', it will be apparent that upward movement of the 'head 65elevates the can and-the entire holder 38. .This holderv is carriedbythe plate ,4I which slides in the guide 34. It will be apparenttherefore, that the operation' of the lever33 to deform the ham 20simultaneously elevates the can and the holder" 38, andY this operationmoves the upper end'fof the can holder approximately into contact-withthe lower end of thehopper I2 while the flange 1I enters the upper endof the can.

The operator will now rotate the hand wheel 94 and engagement of thepinion SI will move the rack bar 88 and pressure head 89 downwardly. `Aspreviously stated the head 89 .is of a shape and size corresponding tothe rectangular cross-sectional shape of the inside of the hopper I2when the wall i9 is in vertical position. It will be obvious, of course,thatone corner of the head 89 will be cut away to provide a notchthrough which the vent ,element 96 is operable. Downward movementoi thehead 89 brings it into contact with the upper end of the deformed hamwithin the hopper and continued downward movement of the head 83 forcesthe ham downwardly into the can within the can holder 38. The flange 'Il(Figure 3) will extend into the upper end of the can and the head Il ismovable downwardly to a position within the flange 1l to force the hamcompletely into the can with the upper extremity of the ham slightlybelow the upper extremity of the can to permit the latter to be readilycapped.

It will be apparent that while the ham is being forced downwardly intothe can, the vent element 06' will be in position within the can andwill extend substantially to the bottom of the can. Thev ham will havebeen deformed to a shape and size ping of at least some air in thebottom of the can'.

and this air is not readily'removable when the can is evactuated at thetime of the capping thereof. With the use of the vent .elementdescribed, the ham may be moved easily downwardly into contact with thebottom of the can, the'air in the bottom of the can freelyescapinguupwardly through the vent element 36. Thus 'the building up ofpressure is prevented and the formation of air pockets in the bottom ofthe can will be prevented, thus permitting proper evacuay tion of thecan prior to processing.

After the ham has been forced into the can in the manner stated theoperator will rst grasp the ilnger piece 91 (Figure 1) of the ventelement, and will pull this vent upwardly to its inoperative positionshown in Figure 3. The-vent element 3l slides upwardly over the rib 95and substantially fits this, rib, and during upward movement of the ventelement, the lower end of the rib l5 will scrape any vmeat or fat fromthe interior. of the vent element, thus keeping this element clean.

i When the vent element has been withdrawn, the operator will move thelever 33 back to its inoperative position shown in solid lines inFigures l and 3 and this operation will restore the wall Il to itsinoperative position shown in solid lines in Flgure'3, and will swingthe cam 'Il (Figure 3).

back to its inoperative position. The latter operation permits |theweight of the-can holder, slide il, etc., to move these elements back totheir normalA positions, the plate 4I vof the cam holder again restingon the pin 42. The operator will then grasp the handle of the latch 52(Figure 4) and swing it to.open position, whereupOn the door elements 43and 44 may be swung to the open position shown in Figure 4 to permit theremoval of thefllled can and the insertion of an empty can into the canholder.

. vFrom the foregoing it will be apparent that the presentapparatusgreatly simplifies the Procedure involved in deforming hams or thelikeand placing them in cans to be sealed and processed. An empty can of anydesired height,v according to the volume of the ham, may be placed inthe can holder and the ham dropped into the hopper I2,

whereupon it is merely necessary for the operator to swing the lever 33to operative position, after having inserted the vent element into thecan, and

then rotate the hand wheel 84. A11 of the various operations involvedrequire very few seconds and accordingly it will be apparent that theapparatus, while quite simple and compact in construction, enects agreat saving in the time and labor Vinvolved in filling the cans.

Moreover; the apparatus provides simple andefiective means for deformingan uncooked ham, without the necessity for partially cooking the hambefore placing it in the can and accordingly all of the cooking of theham takes place in the can. All of the natural juices ofthe haxn arethus preserved and the final 4'product is accordingly substantiallyimproved in quality.

It is to be understood that the form ofthe invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be a hopper having opposite para11e1 walls, a thirdYposition parallel to said third wall to form a chamber of uniform crosssectional area, movement of said movable wall to its operative positionbeing adapted to deform an article in'the hopper to cause it to assume asubstantially uniform cross sectional shape corresponding to that ofsaid chamber, a lever. and motion transmitting connections betweenI saidlever and said movable wall, said connections comprising a crank, and alink pivotally connected to the' free 40 end of said crank and to saidmovable wall, the

points of pivotalcohnection of said link and the turning axis of saidcrank being arranged to lie substantially in a common plane when saidmov able wall is in operative position.

2. An article. deforming and container filler mechanism comprising ahopper having a wall movable to deform an article in the hopper,

means for supporting an open-ended container ing movement longitudinallyof said hopper, said supporting means further comprising an end memberremote Vfrom said hopper mounted for movement independently of saidwalls, means for moving said end member relative said walls intoengagement with the bottom of a can in' said walls, and common means formoving said end member toward said hopper to bring the open end of v*thecan substantially into engagement therewith to receive an articletherefrom and for moving the movable wall of s'aidiopper to deform anarticle therein. j 3. An articledeforming and container fillingmechanism comprising an open-ended hopper having at least one wallAthereof movable to deform an article therein into .substantiallyuniform cross sectional shape, means for supporting an open-endedcontainerV adjacent one end of the hopper in alignment with the deformedarticle therein, said supporting means comprislng can-receiving wallsmounted for movement in alignment with the deformed article and havinglimited movement away from said hopper, said supporting means having anend member mounted for movement for adjustment relative to saidcan-receiving walls to position a container in said supporting means inaccordance with the length of the container, means for supporting saidend member for such movement, arid means for bodily moving saidsupporting means, including said end member, to bring the open end ofthe container substantially into engagement with' said end of the hopperto receive the deformed article therefrom'.

4. An article deforming and container filling mechanism comprising an.open-ended hopper having at least one wall thereof movable to deform anarticle therein into substantially uniform cross sectional shape, meansfor supporting an open-ended container adjacent one end of the hopper inalignment with the deformed article therein, said supporting meanscomprising can-receiving walls mounted for movement in alignment withthe deformed article and having limited movement away from said hopper,said supporting means having an end member mounted for movement foradjustment relative to said can-receiving walls to position a containerin said supporting means in accordance with the length of the container,means for supporting said end member for such movement, means for bodilymoving said supporting means, including said end member, to bringtheopen end of the container substantially into engagement with said end ofthe hopper to receive the deformed article therefrom, and a lever foractuating said movable wall to deform` the article in the hopper, saidlever being connected to said last named means to actuate it to movesaid container supporting means.

5. An article deforming and can filling mechoffthe cans, a head movablerelative to said walls anism comprising a hopper open at both ends andoperative for deforming an article therein to cause it to assume a shapehaving a uniform cross sectional area, can-supporting means adjacent oneend of said hopper for supporting an open-ended canin alignment with thedeformed article to receive the same, said supporting means comprisingwalls movable to open position to receive a can and provided with spacedgrooves to selectively receive the beads adjacent the lower ends of thecans in accordance with the lengths of the cans, a head movable relativeto said walls to engage the bottoms of cans of different lengths tosupportthe cans during the nlling operation, and means for supportingsaid head for` such relative movement. l

6. An article deforming and can lling mechanism comprising a hopper`open at both ends and voperative for deforming an article therein tocause it to assume a shape having a uniform cross sectional area,can-supporting means adjacent dne endof said hopper for supporting anopen-ended can in alignment with the deformed article to receive thesame, said supporting means comprising Walls movable to open position toreceive a can and provided with spaced grooves to selectively receivethe beads adjacent the lower ends of the cans in accordance with the-lengths to engage the bottoms of cans of different lengths to supportthe cans during the filling operation, means for supporting said headfor such relative movement, and mechanism having a common operatinglever for effecting the deforming of the article in said hopper and'forbodily moving said can supporting means, including said head, to

c,bring the open end ofo the can substantially into contact with theadjacent end of the hopper to receive the article therefrom.

GEORGE L. CROSS.

